Carlo Ancelotti, guest of LARMANDILLO by Armando Ceroni on RSI, retraces his Rossoneri career between the pitch and the bench, but not only that. These are his statements:
On the penalty shootout final against Juventus:
“In the 2003 final, I sent three defenders to take the penalties — Serginho, Kaladze, and Nesta — because I couldn’t find anyone else. It’s also true that I had taken off Pirlo and Rui Costa, but it wasn’t easy to find five penalty takers. That was something I did find in 2005 (against Liverpool in Istanbul, editor’s note), all good ones, only that there was Dudek and, with today’s rules, all the penalties would have had to be retaken.”
Ancelotti, what happened in Istanbul?
“I congratulated the players for what they had done. I reiterate the idea that the English never give up and that it was important to start the second half well. Then what happened, happened. We actually started the second half well — Shevchenko had a chance, and it could’ve gone 4-0 — then there were six minutes of madness. But afterward, we started again and did well. Among all the finals played by my teams, that one, technically speaking, is the best final," as relayed via Milannews.it.
On the match against Manchester, first leg of the 2007 Champions League semifinal, lost:
“Even there, United’s late goal slightly changed the psychological preparation for the return leg because we were forced to win, and Manchester knew they had a slight advantage. I didn’t take the defeat as something too negative.”
Is there a special atmosphere at Milanello on the eve of the Champions League?
“I believe that Milan and Real Madrid are the clubs that have a special eye for the Champions League because both clubs built their history on this competition. The special environment you feel in these teams for the Champions League is different from other contexts," concluded Ancelotti.
